The inquiry activity I am going to use for my informal assessment review is the first lab using an actual motor. During this lab they will build a circuit with a small motor and diagram, observe, and question chart the results. To do this they will make a Diagram/Observation/Question chart in their notebooks to fill in during the lab. This is something that they are familiar with as they have been using this format throughout the year. They understand that, rather than asking a lot of questions during the lab they should write them into their notebooks, if they are unable to probe the lab further to find out the answer to their question. It also teaches them to analyze what they are working with and to look closely. The diagrams must be labeled and clear for another students to read. The observations should include what they did as well as what the result was. They may have questions on how the parts work, or how the motor works itself. This beginning lab with a new object should generate many questions, so as to get them interested in learning more about the topic itself. The big idea behind this topic is PS3 (the motion of an object is effected by forces) which relates to the magnetism and electrical forces and how they run a motor. This will hopefully be the big idea behind this lab as well. We have been exploring the various forces for a few weeks and started building parts of motors in the last week (a solenoid that made a magnetic field, and then a magnetic field that spun a solenoid). This lab should have them see all the parts together and get them thinking about how they work together and why (the forces behind their function). My assessment will be to see if they have filled out their chart. They should have clear labeled diagrams. They should have several (at least 3) observations. In the questions section I will be looking not only for basic questions (such as what does ___ do, or why does something do something) but more in depth questions (such as the commutator changes the direction of the energy flow but why does this help the motor run?).
Informal Assessment: Motors Lab
The inquiry activity I am going to use for my informal assessment review is the first lab using an actual motor. During this lab they will build a circuit with a small motor and diagram, observe, and question chart the results. To do this they will make a Diagram/Observation/Question chart in their notebooks to fill in during the lab. This is something that they are familiar with as they have been using this format throughout the year. They understand that, rather than asking a lot of questions during the lab they should write them into their notebooks, if they are unable to probe the lab further to find out the answer to their question. It also teaches them to analyze what they are working with and to look closely. The diagrams must be labeled and clear for another students to read. The observations should include what they did as well as what the result was. They may have questions on how the parts work, or how the motor works itself. This beginning lab with a new object should generate many questions, so as to get them interested in learning more about the topic itself. The big idea behind this topic is PS3 (the motion of an object is effected by forces) which relates to the magnetism and electrical forces and how they run a motor. This will hopefully be the big idea behind this lab as well. We have been exploring the various forces for a few weeks and started building parts of motors in the last week (a solenoid that made a magnetic field, and then a magnetic field that spun a solenoid). This lab should have them see all the parts together and get them thinking about how they work together and why (the forces behind their function). My assessment will be to see if they have filled out their chart. They should have clear labeled diagrams. They should have several (at least 3) observations. In the questions section I will be looking not only for basic questions (such as what does ___ do, or why does something do something) but more in depth questions (such as the commutator changes the direction of the energy flow but why does this help the motor run?).